How bad are the crowds after New Years?

[Rsj88]

We are not able to travel during our usual time in November this year so I was thinking of trying the beginning of January. We use to go with pretty low crowds right after New Years but that was a long time ago. What should I expect the 2nd through like the 8th in terms of crowds? Most of the crowd calendars seem to have it as super busy but is it really that bad? I can navigate crowds pretty well but I want to be prepared. Thanks!

 

[OneofThree]

Was there the 2nd week of Jan this year, and in my opinion, crowds were full blast. Never have seen Jan look like that before. I've seen it suggested that the departure from the norm was due to Irma rescheduling, but who knows. Having been hundreds of times and living in driving distance, we didn't feel pressured to see anything and/or everything. So, we ended up leaving the parks because it was a project just to walk in the parks. No idea if Jan 2019 will be the same.

 

[cdeev8690]

Yep, best to be prepared for just about anything. This past late winter experienced an uncharacteristically high crowds which blindsided a lot of people. It's basically a 'prepare for the worst, hope for the best' scenario with every visit.

 

[DarthVader]

his past late winter experienced an uncharacteristically high crowds which blindsided a lot of people. It's basically a 'prepare for the worst

That happened to us one May trip. We had done May trips in the past so we thought the crowds would be manageable but quite the opposite. I go into planning for excessive crowds no matter what.

I do think middle/late Jan and a bit into Feb may be the last remaining portion of the calendar where WDW is not overly crowded but that might already changed.

 

[Amos1784]

I think crowds will most likely be high, most school districts are still on Winter Break through that whole week. You would probably be safest Week of 14th or 28th. Jan 10th begins Dopey Marathon, and week of the 21st throws in MLK Day which draws crowds as well. Honestly at this point I think there are two crowd levels crowded and VERY crowded.

 

[nickys]

Also, in addition to the schools still being out and the marathon crowds, the park opening times suddenly revert to normal. After a week of 7am MK openings, and 8/8:30 elsewhere, it's back to 9am openings (there will still be an EMH each day). That also has the effect of making it seem just as busy.

New Years Day though is amazing. You can walk on most rides easily up to around 11am, since a lot of people won't have got back to their rooms until 3 am. It's mostly families with young kids up and about.

 

[Rsj88]

Also, in addition to the schools still being out and the marathon crowds, the park opening times suddenly revert to normal. After a week of 7am MK openings, and 8/8:30 elsewhere, it's back to 9am openings (there will still be an EMH each day). That also has the effect of making it seem just as busy.

New Years Day though is amazing. You can walk on most rides easily up to around 11am, since a lot of people won't have got back to their rooms until 3 am. It's mostly families with young kids up and about.

Thanks! That’s good to hear! We are rope droppers and hoping to use that to our advantage! We usually go the week before Thanksgiving which has gotten pretty crowded! This year the school rules on family vacations changed so we only have a couple of days to work with. I was hoping after New Years would be better than our alternative of Thanksgiving week. We usually navigate crowds pretty well but It would be nice if we get a couple of good days in there where it’s not swamped.